Rocky stood at a fork in the dirt road. There was a red hiking bag strapped to his shoulders and he wore a floppy hat over his sweat glazed head. The map Ninjor gave him was hanging from his pocket. He had followed it here, across the world.

It was stupid of him to be here, stupid and selfish. His team needed him, and there was a Machine Empire ship hovering over Stone Canyon. There couldn't have been a worse time for him to jump ship and go on a treasure hunt. He knew this long before he decided to leave, but he had known something else as well. He knew he was tired of watching. He had been a Ranger for so long, it was in his blood by now. He couldn't let a bunch of kids runs into danger alone.

Rocky felt a jolt in his stomach, he had left so that they wouldn't fight alone, which might force them to fight alone while he was away. He brushed the negative thoughts away, he was on a mission. Compared to the stress of playing couch this was a vacation.

He was approaching a cave. It was a strange sight, a pile of rocks jutting out of the green grass. There was an alarming aura about the entire place, something that screamed danger, something that warned Rocky that this wasn't a natural phenomenon.

He was slowly approaching the cave. Something nagged in the back of the warriors head. A warning of sorts. He felt the aura of something from just beyond the treeline, hiding in the darkness. Rocky was ready, he felt for his weapon, a Katana. He had used it while doing freelance fighting with Ninjor. That had been before the Ninjetti Rangers had been created, it felt like forever ago.

Rocky drew his blade as a new figure appeared. It wasn't a strange monster, nor was it some powerful looking warrior wrapped in steel armor. It was instead an elderly man. His skin was strange and pale, his eyes deep and sunken. He looked as old as time itself. His frame was thin and wiry, which combined with his thin hair to give Rocky the impression he was nothing more than a conglomeration of millions of stray fibers.

"Do you truly seek the power within this cave?" The man asked.

Rocky stared at him for a few moments, then he nodded.

"I must warn you, a power such as this comes at a great cost."

"I can take it," Rocky said, there was strength in his voice.

"Do you really want to, though?" The man asked. "Or do you simply feel the obligation." The man took a step closer to Rocky, his dark eyes gazed into the former Ranger's soul. "The power you seek… the power of the strongest ninja to walk to the Earth, it isn't something to be taken lightly. You will die by the blade. That is the path you seek. You will fight until nothing remains of you. Is that something you can understand?"

Rocky shook his head. "This isn't just something I need. It's something I want. I never stopped being a Ranger, even after I lost my powers. Ninjor says I've grown stronger than a Morpher can support, I'm ready to take this to the next level."

The man nodded, "Very well." He led Rocky into a cave. The inside was dark and wet, the walls were incredibly smooth, they seemed liked painted glass. Rocky could feel the power, it called to him from deep within the darkness. It was like the soft grip of a lover, dragging him forward with a strong sense of seduction.

When Rocky first caught sight of it his mouth began to twitch, and his eyes gleamed with the strongest sense of longing. A tiny sliver of silver peaked at the former Ranger. It seemed almost too sweet to be real, like some sort of strange illusion. It appeared to be a Katana, it stuck from the ground like Excalibur.

" Optical-magnetized Light Vacuum Sword." The man said in a soft voice. "It was used by the ninja Jiraiya to win the Great Ninja War."

Rocky gripped the blade. He could feel the power, an impossible amount of Ninjetti was sealed within the blade. Sparks danced around Rocky's hand. His personal Ninjetti danced with the Ninjetti of his blade. They were testing each other, seeing if this was a good match. Rocky grinned as the sword gave way, sliding from the rock as if it were butter.

The Power of Jiraiya began to flow through Rocky. It was like fire in his veins, it burnt like a shot of vodka, feeling the ninja energized like never before.

"Enjoy the power while you can." The man warned. "Before long it will completely devour you…"

Reese was at home, which was a strange instant. He felt stuffy and uncomfortable, he swore his dinner table had been larger. His mother set a plate of food down next to him, she flashed a smile at him, but it seemed forced.

Soon after his father walked into the house. The middle-aged man wrapped in a large brown coat stumbled into the kitchen. His parents acknowledged each other with a lazy nod. Reese hadn't ever seen them display any sort of affection.

His father dug into his steak, seeming to be completely disjointed from the rest of reality. His mother looked his father then back to Reese. "It's nice to have you here, Hunny. Isn't it dear."

"Yeah," His dad mumbled, "I haven't seen you in awhile, how's your day David?"

David?

His mother swallowed hard. "I better get back to my meditation." She spat and lifted up her plate.

His father finally noticed his mistake, and his face grew a deep red.

Reese waited for further explanation, but none was given, the rest of his meal was in complete silence.

Alice moved through the shadows. Her head was already full of blinding light. It filled every inch of her brain, scrambling every thought into an incoherent wave. The night air helped, the quite helped, but nothing could truly stop the pain.

Alice was approaching the small Dojo. It was a seemingly insignificant place, hardly worth noticing. She slipped inside the window, finding the hidden base of Rocky DeSantos. The place was nice and sleek, a small desk sat in the small room. Resting on the desk was a small device.

"What are you doing?" A voice asked. Alice whipped around, a boy was watching her with an annoyed look on his face.

"Just checking things out, nice setup and all. What about you?"

"I live here." The boy replied.

"Ah." She said softly. Alice grabbed the device and tried to bolt. The boy move moved fast, he leaped forward and wrapped his hand tightly around her wrist.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Alice shrugged, "I was planning on borrowing that." She tried to struggle against the boy, but he wouldn't budge.

Another figure materialized in the dusk. Alice grinned, the cavalry had arrived. The man was roughly twenty-five. His sandy hair was slightly wavy, he wore a plain t-shirt and glasses. Before the boy could turn to see the figure the new boy's fist went into Alice's captor's stomach. He buckled over, the air knocked out of him.

Alice slid over to the boy. She placed her hand on his shoulder. "Good job." She said with satisfaction in her voice.

"Don't mention it." He replied.

The boy had regained himself, he stood up and glared at the two. "Ninjetti Power!" He screamed as a yellow light enveloped him.

Ninjetti Yellow leaped at the two. Alice doubted he'd try to hurt them, but she slid away, just in case. "Give that back." Ninjetti Yellow barked.

"Sorry." Alice said, "I can't do that."

Ninjetti Yellow jumped at Alice, but the boy next to her drew a small pistol. Blue lightning shot from the gun at impacted Ninjetti Yellow. The Ranger bucked over, his body was sharp with pain and his armor locked up.

"Let's get out of here." The boy said.

Alice nodded. "Yeah."

The two fled into the night, taking the Morpher with them.

Luke was having a bad day. Rocky and the three other Ninjetti Rangers stood around him. It was embarrassing, especially with Jonathan in the room. The Navy Ranger had a self-righteous gleam in his eye. It made Luke want to beat his face in.

"It's not your fault." Rocky said, "They got you at a bad moment." The former Ranger gripped the handle of his newest weapon. "It would have been different if I was with you."

Jonathan sighed, "We can play the blame game all day, or we can figure out who they were."

Luke felt a fire in his chest. "Says you, I don't even think you should be on the team."

"Wow." Jonathan said, "Where did that come from?"

"You keep getting in the way." Luke blurted out, "You have no self-control. You're a complete idiot."

Jonathan stood up, he leaned over Luke. The Yellow Ranger wanted a fight. He wanted the loser to swing first. He just had to wait, it was only a matter of time. He was the stick of dynamite, he was going to explode eventually.

"Whatever," Jonathan said softly. He turned around and moved towards the door.

"Wait!" Reese yelled, he looked as if he'd just been snapped awake. "You can't go alone!" Reese rushed after Jonathan. Luke supposed that was a standard reaction, last time Jonathan went on his own he got kidnapped by Twisted Crimson.

Rocky sighed. Only Luke and Cameron were left. Why did it always seem to come down to the two of them? Luke figured it was because they were the only competent Rangers left.

"We can track the Morpher." Rocky said, "It's still emitting a Morphing signal, we can track it, just the three of us."

"Sweet." Cameron said, "I take it you're anxious to use your new toy?"

Rocky grinned, "I didn't think it was that obvious."

"I've known you for six months," Luke said, "I can read you like a book."

Rocky felt weird, had this been going on that long?

The three of them set off. Despite the circumstances, he felt better than ever.

Alice could hear her own breath, it was harsh and loud. It rattled her chest as she heaved in and out. Her heart, she could feel that too, it thrashed like a trapped animal. The boy from earlier was fast asleep. Cooper… That was what he called himself.

Cooper was laying on his back, a plain t-shirt, and boxers. His chest moved up and down very slowly. Alice could see his chest, chiseled, like one of those models you'd see in an underwear ad.

He filled Alice with tiny sparks of electricity, they shot through her system, leaving her strange and jittery. She was fixated on his head, his sandy hair. It looked incredibly soft, a part of her wanted nothing more than to touch it.

Her hand trembled as it approached Cooper's head. Her breath was rapid. So close… she could almost feel him against her hand.

There was a knock on the hotel door. Alice felt her heart burst from her chest as Cooper leaped forward he slipped his pants on and moved to the door. He held his gun in his grip. Ready to fire into whoever bothered him.

A pale Asian face smiled at the gun-toting man,"Sorry." The boy blurted, "Is this a bad time?"

"A little." The man said with a scowl, "What do you want?"

There was a rustling in the hotel room, Cooper darted his around to find two new figures inside. He locked eyes with the boy from last night. "Rangers…" The man said in an annoyed tone. He fired his gun at the two, but they quickly dodged.

"Ninjetti Power!" One of the two inside, and the one outside yelled. Suddenly Alice and Cooper were surrounded by the Yellow and Green Ninjetti Rangers.

"I hate ambushes," Cooper muttered. He threw a smoke grenade to the ground and bolted out of the room. Alice felt his strong grip against her arm as he pulled her with him. She should feel scared, but all she felt was exhilarated.

The two had spilled into the empty road, the two Ninjetti Ranger were ready for them. The man that was with the Rangers was there as well. He held a serious gaze on his face, a long Katana was in his grip.

Alice took a step forward. She had the Morpher on her wrist. She could feel the energy it radiated, it called to her, begging to be summoned. She was only using it to impress Cooper, but she had to admit it felt very natural on her wrist.

"Ninjetti Power!" She screamed. A yellow light covered her body. It solidified into a Golden Armor similar to the Navy and Crimson Rangers. "Gold Ranger." The Ranger said with her red and black staff forward. The Gold Ranger jumped at the Rangers, she threw her staff down, but Rocky blocked it with his Katana.

"You're not the only one with a new form," Rocky said. His body began to glow with crimson energy. Lightning flashed around him as he morphed into his new form. His armor was covered in black chain mail with red boots and a red chest plate. His helmet was red with gold along the front and silver over his mouth. Blue eyes glowed from within the helmet as he armed his Optical-magnetized Light Vacuum Sword. "Ultimate Ninja Jiraiya!"

Jiraiya clashed blades with the Golden Ranger. Gold tried to dodge the relentless assaults, but Jiraiya was too fast, he slashed his blade against her chest, sending sparks flying from her body.

Ninjetti Green and Yellow circled Cooper. He simply grinned at them, "Are you going to do something?"

"We don't attack civilians." Ninjetti Yellow said.

"Sucks for you." The man said with a grin and fired his pistol at the two of them. Sparks flew from their armor as they fell to the ground.

"Armor Locking Pistol, Silver Guardian's newest firearm." The man said with a sideways grin. He casually walked over to Ninjetti Yellow and kicked him in the gut. With the yellow Ranger now on his back Cooper pressed his foot against the Ranger's chest.

"I've heard enough about you Ninjetti Rangers to know your no good. Just try to stay out of my way."

"You stole our Morpher!" Luke barked back.

"Who cares?" Cooper asked.

Ninjetti Green pushed himself up, he raised his blade, but Cooper shot it down again. "You guys aren't very good at this."

Cooper turned to the Golden Ranger. "Hey kid, let's bail."

The Gold Ranger nodded. She jumped over to Cooper and the two of them disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Reese and Jonathan walked in silence. The two didn't have much to say, Jonathan was filled with rage, and Reese was thinking about what his father had said. Was he really that forgettable, how had his father forgotten his name? What kind of father does that?

"Hey Jonathon," Reese said in a shaky voice, "What's your dad like?"

Jonathan frowned, "He's a real prick. If you're expecting me to introduce you to him you should forget it. We haven't talked since I was fourteen."

"What happened?"

"I came out," Jonathan said flatly.

"Oh," Reese said he tried to imagine what that would be like. Sure his dad didn't concern himself with Reese's life, but would him condoning it be any worse?

"It's whatever." Jonathan said dismissively, "He was always too good for me anyway. I'm better here."

Reese looked to his left, he stopped two figures walking along the sidewalk. One was a girl with dark hair, a flannel jacket, and jeans, while the other was a man dressed in a tight t-shirt and dress pants. There was something familiar about the boy, something he couldn't quite place.

"Are you checking him out?" Jonathan asked.

Reese blushed, "N-no."

Jonathan shrugged, "He's cute."

"I guess so," Reese admitted, something about the statement made his skin crawl. It wasn't the fact Jonathon had acknowledged the appearance of someone else, it was something deeper, more twisted.

"So you were checking him out!" Jonathan exclaimed.

"No!" Reese shot back.

Jonathan laughed, "I'm just messing with you."

Reese looked again, but the boy was gone. His thoughts drifted away from the encounter back to his father. Why couldn't he remember his own son's name?

Cooper stood in the Silver Guardians barracks. He fiddled with one of the newest guns, an upgraded model of the Armor Lock Pistol. He darted his head around, looking to see if anyone was around, then he slipped it into his pocket.

"Long time no see,friend." A familiar voice said behind Cooper. His heart stopped as he turned around. He felt a chill go down his spine.

"Last I checked you were dead."

Len smiled, "It sure seemed that way, but apparently there was a change of plans." The boy that shouldn't be alive sat down next to Cooper. "It's weird we both ended up here isn't it?"

"I guess," Cooper said with a shrug. It wasn't really that weird, though, they were hiring a lot of ex-military personnel for the Silver Guardians.

"Maybe it's fate."

"So what do they have you doing?" Cooper asked.

Len's grin grew even larger, he reached into his pocket and withdrew an Advent Deck. "I'm one the elite now baby! No offense."

Cooper tried to hold his shock. "None taken."

"The scientists are working on more of these, they say pretty soon I'll have my own troop. Who knows, maybe you can transfer and we can work together, just like old times."

"Yeah," Cooper said in a shaky voice. The sight of Len was still freaking him out. I watched the bullet go right through your head, how aren't you dead?

Alice was alone in the hotel room. She missed Cooper, she wondered where he went. He's probably with another girl, someone hotter… She looked down at her chest, Someone with actual boobs…

The door creaked open and her heart stopped. Cooper walked into the room. He glanced at Alice indifferently, and she felt her heart melt.

"Where were you?" She asked, resisting the urge to wrap her arms around him.

"I got you something." He said cooly and threw her a pistol.

She held it carefully in her grip, marveling at it. Sure it wasn't an expensive ring, but it was better than nothing. It was still a sign of affection, despite its obscurity. "Thank you…" She mumbled.

"I spotted our target," Cooper said, he sat down and closed his eyes, rubbing his temples. "We've already seen what his team is capable of, getting him won't be too hard."

Alice marveled at Cooper, he was so smart, he was always two steps of his opponent. Copper smiled, his eyes gleamed, "Soon we go after our true goal. Soon we go after Ninjetti Red."

A/N: Now that I'm done with school for the summer I should have time to post more chapters.